en-US Thu, 04 Jan 2024 18:03:48 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 56974297 A whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, soon to be a Netflix original series starring Austin Abrams and Midori Francis!

Lily left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and rise to its challenges. What follows is a whirlwind romance as Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City. But can their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions, or will their scavenger hunt end in a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?]]> 260 Rachel Cohn 1760878286 Shannon 4 3.40 2010
author: Rachel Cohn
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/09
date added: 2024/01/04
shelves: 2021, ya, fiction, christmas, romantic-comedy, removed
review:

]]> 59432685 When a fake relationship between scientists meets the irresistible force of attraction, it throws one woman’s carefully calculated theories on love into chaos.

As a third-year Ph.D. candidate, Olive Smith doesn’t believe in lasting romantic relationships but her best friend does, and that’s what got her into this situation. Convincing Anh that Olive on her way to a happily ever after was always going to be tough, scientists require proof. So, like any self-respecting woman, Olive panics and kisses the first man she sees.

That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when he agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire and Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support (and his unyielding abs), their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion.

Olive soon discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.]]> 356 Ali Hazelwood 1408725762 Shannon 5 4.14 2021
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/27
date added: 2021/12/28
shelves: 2021, romance, romantic-comedy
review:

]]> 59602413 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case.

Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves.

Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?]]> 382 Richard Osman Shannon 5 3.85 2020
author: Richard Osman
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/12/16
date added: 2021/12/16
shelves: crime, detective-fiction, 2021
review:

]]> 58617036
Is this the end?

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Wait . . . Not. So. Fast.

When we last saw Squad 312, they were working together seamlessly (aka, freaking out) as an intergalactic battle raged and an ancient superweapon threatened to obliterate Earth. Everything went horribly wrong, naturally.

But as it turns out, not all endings are endings, and the team has one last chance to rewrite theirs. Maybe two. It’s complicated.

Cue Zila, Fin and Scarlett (and Magellan!) making friends, making enemies and making history? Sure, no problem.

Cue Tyler, Kal and Auri joining forces with two of the galaxy’s most hated villains? Um, okay, yeah. That too.

Actually saving the galaxy, though?]]> 496 Amie Kaufman 1760295752 Shannon 5 4.20 2021
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/11/24
date added: 2021/12/03
shelves: australian-women-writers, fantasy, sci-fi, space-opera, favourite, 2021
review:

]]> 35900387 No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen on the sidewalk, the three become the kinds of friends who rescue one another from the lives of isolation they have each been living. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.

Soon to be a major motion picture produced by Reese Witherspoon, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the smart, warm, and uplifting story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

The only way to survive is to open your heart. ]]> 390 Gail Honeyman 0008172145 Shannon 4 4.17 2017
author: Gail Honeyman
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/27
date added: 2021/10/31
shelves: 2019, fiction, mental-health, re-read, 2021
review:

]]> 58616871 Once a victim, she's now a vigilante. An addictive and suspenseful thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Sarah Bailey.

Lexi Winter is tough, street-smart and has stood on her own two feet since childhood, when she was a victim of notorious paedophile the Spider. All she cares about now is a roof over her head and her long-term relationship with Johnny Walker. She isn't particular about who she sleeps with ... as long as they pay before leaving.

Lexi is also an ace hacker, tracking and entrapping local paedophiles and reporting them to the cops. When she finds a particularly dangerous paedophile who the police can't touch, she decides to gather enough evidence to put him away. Instead, she's a witness to his death ...

Detective Inspector Rachael Langley is the cop who cracked the Spider case, 18 years earlier - but failed to protect Lexi. Now a man claiming to be the real Spider is emulating his murderous acts, and Rachael is under pressure from government, media and her police colleagues. Did she get it wrong all those years ago, or is this killer is a copycat?

Lexi and Rachael cross paths at last, the Spider in their sights ... but they may be too late ...]]> 496 Sarah Barrie 1867226456 Shannon 4
Other chapters are split between the detective who failed Lexi as a ten-year old, Rachael, and Rachael's nephew Finn who is also a detective on the case. Their characters are not so well fleshed out, they help the plot move forward and provide other insights, so they function as devices more than people. Having said that, I did care about them, especially Rachael whose career is on the line with the Spider case, as it appears she had the wrong man locked up years before.

Without a doubt my favourite parts were Lexi's interactions with her older neighbour, Dawny, and Dawny's helpfulness in getting rid of bodies, amongst other things. It's Dawny and Lexi that elevate this novel from your usual crime thriller to something more memorable. ]]> 4.30 2021
author: Sarah Barrie
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.30
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/21
date added: 2021/10/21
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, thriller, crime
review:
This crime-thriller reads at a terrific pace, and has the feel of a tightly-constructed and highly enjoyable television series. Lexi has chapters in first person present tense and I loved her character - she's a product of the atrocities committed against her as a child but she's also made a success out of her life: she's independent, savvy, skilled and confident. Sure it's a bit improbable that she's a top-notch hacker (easy to see similarities with Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) but she owns it and it makes her very interesting. Her flouting of the law and casual attitude towards crime makes her an enjoyable character to read (the opposite of me so I can live vicariously).

Other chapters are split between the detective who failed Lexi as a ten-year old, Rachael, and Rachael's nephew Finn who is also a detective on the case. Their characters are not so well fleshed out, they help the plot move forward and provide other insights, so they function as devices more than people. Having said that, I did care about them, especially Rachael whose career is on the line with the Spider case, as it appears she had the wrong man locked up years before.

Without a doubt my favourite parts were Lexi's interactions with her older neighbour, Dawny, and Dawny's helpfulness in getting rid of bodies, amongst other things. It's Dawny and Lexi that elevate this novel from your usual crime thriller to something more memorable.
]]> 59057096 The Good Life, she shares inspiration and practical advice to help you live happily and sustainably.

From growing your own tea, to building a DIY water tank, making yoghurt and co-housing, with The Good Life you'll gain the skills, self-reliance and confidence needed to engage meaningfully with your space, your food and your community. Whether you have a half-acre, a backyard, a tiny balcony or no balcony at all, there are tips and tricks to suit everyone.

Full of wisdom, hope and inspiration, The Good Life is your ultimate guide to improving your wellbeing and the wellbeing of those around you to create a better world for all.]]> 303 Hannah Moloney 1922419389 Shannon 4 4.33
author: Hannah Moloney
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2021/10/04
date added: 2021/10/11
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, climate-change, culture-and-society, environmentalism, gardening, non-fiction, tasmanian
review:

]]> 50993145
In her introduction Kate Grenville tells, tongue firmly in cheek, of discovering a long-hidden box containing that memoir. What follows is a playful dance of possibilities between the real and the invented.

Grenville's Elizabeth Macarthur is a passionate woman managing her complicated life-marriage to a ruthless bully, the impulses of her own heart, the search for power in a society that gave her none-with spirit, cunning and sly wit.

Her memoir reveals the dark underbelly of the polite world of Jane Austen. It explodes the stereotype of the women of the past- devoted and docile, accepting of their narrow choices. That was their public face-here's what one of them really thought.

At the heart of this book is one of the most toxic issues of our times- the seductive appeal of false stories. Beneath the surface of Elizabeth Macarthur's life and the violent colonial world she navigated are secrets and lies with the dangerous power to shape reality.

A Room Made of Leaves is the internationally acclaimed author Kate Grenville's first novel in almost a decade. It is historical fiction turned inside out, a stunning sleight of hand that gives the past the piercing immediacy of the present.]]> 352 Kate Grenville 1922330027 Shannon 5 3.74 2020
author: Kate Grenville
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/10/09
date added: 2021/10/11
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, historical-fiction, colonialism
review:

]]> 57177733
If you encounter the Black Wind while out there at sea, all you can do is race back to shore. There’s no predicting it, no sailing it, no living with it. And if you’re a Dempsey, it can play tricks on your mind. . .

On the Tasman Peninsula, nestled amidst the largest sea-cliffs in the southern hemisphere, is Shacktown. Here the Dempsey family have run a drug ring for generations, using the fishing industry and the deadly Black Wind as cover. But when thirteen-year-old Forest Dempsey walks out of the ocean, bruised and branded, everything is imperilled – because Forest has been believed dead for the last seven years.

Mackerel Dempsey, out of jail on strict bail conditions, is trying to change his fate, doing his best to keep out of trouble before his next court date. His cousin Ahab has renounced the family altogether, in favour of working to keep the town and its fragile tourism economy safe. But in their search for answers about Forest, both Mackerel and Ahab can’t help but be drawn back into the underworld. What on earth happened to the boy all those years ago? And does it have anything to do with the infamous drug kingpin Blackbeard, who is rumoured to be moving in on Shacktown?

When secrets long thought buried at sea wash up on shore, generations of the Dempsey family must stand up for what they believe in, even if it means sacrificing everything. But in the gritty fight between right and wrong, blood isn’t always thicker than water, and everyone is at risk of being pulled under...

From the bestselling breakout author of The Bluffs comes a heart-stopping new thriller set on the rugged coast of Tasmania about modern-day pirates, family bonds and betrayals, and the hidden dangers that lurk in the deep…]]> 368 Kyle Perry 1760895717 Shannon 5 3.82 2021
author: Kyle Perry
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/27
date added: 2021/09/28
shelves: 2021, tasmanian, thriller, mystery-suspense
review:

]]> 52483192 An Alternative Cover Edition can be found here

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he's given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.]]> 396 T.J. Klune 1250217318 Shannon 5 4.46 2020
author: T.J. Klune
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.46
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/18
date added: 2021/09/18
shelves: 2021, fantasy, alternate-history, speculative-fiction, lgbt, magical-realism, cover-love, misfits, shape-shifters
review:

]]> 50367911
Lucy and Jem live on the Tasman Peninsula near Eaglehawk Neck, where Lucy is recovering from major surgery. As she tries to navigate her new body through the world, she develops a deep fascination with the local octopuses, and in doing so finds herself drawn towards the friendship of an old woman and her son. As the story unfolds, the octopuses come to shape Lucy's body and her sense of self in ways even she can't quite understand.

The Octopus and I is a stunning debut novel that explores the wild, beating heart at the intersection of human and animal, love and loss, fear and hope.]]> 368 Erin Hortle 1760875643 Shannon 5 4.07 2020
author: Erin Hortle
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/09/05
date added: 2021/09/04
shelves: australian-women-writers, 2021, fiction
review:

]]> 57313499 Lost & Found meets The Rosie Project in a stunning break-out novel where a vulnerable misfit is forced to re-engage with the world, despite her best efforts.

Meet Mercy Blain, whose house has just burnt down. Unfortunately for Mercy, this goes beyond the disaster it would be for most people: she hasn't been outside that house for two years now.

Flung out into the world she's been studiously ignoring, Mercy goes to the only place she can. Her not-quite-ex-husband Eugene's house. But it turns out she can't stay there, either.

And so begins Mercy's unwilling journey. After the chance purchase of a cult classic campervan (read tiny, old and smelly), with the company of her sausage dog, Wasabi, and a mysterious box of cremated remains, Mercy heads north from Adelaide to Darwin.

On the road, through badly timed breakdowns, gregarious troupes of grey nomads, and run-ins with a rogue adversary, Mercy's carefully constructed walls start crumbling. But what was Mercy hiding from in her house? And why is Eugene desperate to have her back in the city? They say you can't run forever...

Exquisite, tender and wry, this is a break-out novel about facing anxiety and embracing life from an extraordinary new talent.]]> 368 Kim Lock 1867214903 Shannon 3 4.10 2021
author: Kim Lock
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/07/22
date added: 2021/07/22
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, fiction, mental-health
review:

]]> 55176044 Future Girl explores what it means to come of age as a Deaf teenager, against the backdrop of a near-future Melbourne on the brink of environmental catastrophe.

Piper's mum wants her to be 'normal', to pass as hearing and get a good job. But when peak oil hits and Melbourne lurches towards environmental catastrophe, Piper has more important things to worry about, such as how to get food.

When she meets Marley, a CODA (child of Deaf adult), a door opens into a new world - where Deafness is something to celebrate rather than hide, and where resilience is created through growing your own food rather than it being delivered on a truck.

As she dives into learning Auslan, sign language that is exquisitely beautiful and expressive, Piper finds herself falling hard for Marley. But Marley, who has grown up in the Deaf community yet is not Deaf, is struggling to find his place in the hearing world. How can they be together?]]> 380 Asphyxia 1760294373 Shannon 5 4.18 2020
author: Asphyxia
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/27
date added: 2021/06/28
shelves: australian-women-writers, ya, speculative-fiction, apocalyptic-or-post-apocalyptic, 2021
review:

]]> 40623809 Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.]]> 400 Leigh Bardugo 1510105263 Shannon 3 2021, fantasy, ya 3.70 2013
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2021/06/20
shelves: 2021, fantasy, ya
review:

]]> 53119954 The tempestuous third book in the fantasy series from global #1 bestselling author Sarah J. Maas.

Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's manoeuvrings and the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit – and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords and hunt for allies in unexpected places. And her heart will face the ultimate test as she and her mate are forced to question whether they can truly trust each other.]]> 728 Sarah J. Maas 152661717X Shannon 5 2021, fantasy 4.48 2017
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.48
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/10
date added: 2021/06/10
shelves: 2021, fantasy
review:

]]> 55210428 The steamy second book in the seductive fantasy series from global #1 bestselling author Sarah J. Maas.

Feyre survived Amarantha's clutches to return to the Spring Court – but at a steep cost. Though she now possesses the powers of the High Fae, her heart remains human, and it can't forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin's people.

Nor has Feyre forgotten her bargain with Rhysand, the mesmerising High Lord of the feared Night Court. As Feyre navigates his dark web of political games and tantalising promises, a greater evil looms – and she might be key to stopping it.

But only if she can step into her growing power, heal her fractured soul and have the courage to shape her own future – and the future of a world cloven in two.]]> 626 Sarah J. Maas 1526617161 Shannon 5 2021, fantasy, favourite 4.65 2016
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/07
date added: 2021/06/07
shelves: 2021, fantasy, favourite
review:

]]> 55217474 Take to the skies in the adventure of a lifetime! (Beware: there will be pirates.)

Orphan Echo Quickthorn has always been told that nothing exists outside the kingdom of Lockfort. Trapped behind the castle walls, she dreams of adventure, but how can she escape if there's nowhere to go?

When an eccentric professor crashes his airship outside her bedroom window, armed with a map and claiming to be a real-life explorer, Echo knows this is the adventure she's been waiting for.

And when she finds a clue to the whereabouts of her missing mother, Echo sets off on a thrilling journey; one that will take her to unimaginable places...

Sky Pirate: Echo and the Great Beyond is the first title in a thrilling new action-packed adventure series.]]> 334 Alex English 1471190773 Shannon 3 4.15 2020
author: Alex English
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/31
date added: 2021/06/03
shelves: adventure, fantasy, childrens, 2021
review:

]]> 55882128
Then he learns the circus is not what it seems – and neither is he.
The answer to the mysteries, and his only hope of survival, lies in a remote valley in Central Asia. It’s four thousand miles, but getting there is the least of his problems …

The Last Circus on Earth is a wild ride across Europe and Russia, a page-turning spec-fic thriller.]]> 370 B.P. Marshall 1925589986 Shannon 5 4.60
author: B.P. Marshall
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.60
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/28
date added: 2021/05/29
shelves: 2021, apocalyptic-or-post-apocalyptic, climate-change, fantasy, favourite, misfits, sci-fi, speculative-fiction
review:

]]> 49511423
In his first new project since Lockwood & Co., Jonathan once again fuses action, humour and mystery to create a uniquely exciting adventure with two fascinating heroes at its heart.]]> 397 Jonathan Stroud 1406394815 Shannon 5 4.05 2021
author: Jonathan Stroud
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/06
date added: 2021/05/06
shelves: 2021, adventure, apocalyptic-or-post-apocalyptic, fantasy, favourite, speculative-fiction, ya
review:

]]> 56273444
Nic's closest relationship is with her niece Lena. The two of them meet for lunch every Sunday to gossip about the rest of the family and bitch about work (they're both checkout chicks: Lena just for now, Nic until they prise her staff discount card from her cold, dead hands).

One Sunday, Nic fails to turn up to lunch and when Lena calls she gets a disconnection message. Arriving at the house she hasn't visited in years ('Too far for you to come, hon. Let's meet in the middle.') she finds her aunt unconscious under an avalanche of stuff.

Lena is devastated that her beloved aunt has been living in such squalor all this time. While Nic is in hospital, she gets to work cleaning things up for her. Her first impulse is to call in the bulldozers and start searching Gumtree for a roomy caravan. But with the help of her reluctantly recruited brother, Will, she gets the job done.

This heroic effort is not appreciated by the plastered up, crutch-wielding Nic. She returns to an empty, alien place unrecognisable as her home and the unbearable pity of her family who have no idea what they've destroyed. How can she live in this place without safety and peace? And how can she ever forgive the niece who has betrayed her?]]> 400 Emily Maguire 1760878332 Shannon 5 3.73 2021
author: Emily Maguire
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/25
date added: 2021/04/26
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, gritty-realism, fiction, beautiful-storytelling, cover-love, culture-and-society, favourite
review:
Sooooo amazing! Beautifully written, compelling, timely (notably, what happens to Lena) and so rich. Hope to return and write a proper review but just want to recommend this far and wide in the meantime!
]]> 56063479
Trina and her wife, Deeba, live blissfully under The Seep’s utopian influence—until Deeba begins to imagine what it might be like to be reborn as a baby, which will give her the chance at an even better life. Using Seep-tech to make this dream a reality, Deeba moves on to a new existence, leaving Trina devastated.

Heartbroken and deep into an alcoholic binge, Trina chases after a young boy she encounters, embarking on an unexpected quest. In her attempt to save him from The Seep, she will confront not only one of its most avid devotees, but the terrifying void that Deeba has left behind.]]> 272 Chana Porter 1789095174 Shannon 4 3.59 2020
author: Chana Porter
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/30
date added: 2021/04/18
shelves: 2021, utopian, speculative-fiction, alien-invasion
review:

]]> 48924047
First, the bad news: an ancient evil—you know, your standard consume-all-life-in-the-galaxy deal—is about to be unleashed. The good news? Squad 312 is standing by to save the day. They’ve just got to take care of a few small distractions first.

Like the clan of gremps who’d like to rearrange their favorite faces.

And the cadre of illegit GIA agents with creepy flowers where their eyes used to be, who’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on Auri.

Then there’s Kal’s long-lost sister, who’s not exactly happy to see her baby brother, and has a Syldrathi army at her back. With half the known galaxy on their tails, Squad 312 has never felt so wanted.

When they learn the Hadfield has been found, it’s time to come out of hiding. Two centuries ago, the colony ship vanished, leaving Auri as its sole survivor. Now, its black box might be what saves them. But time is short, and if Auri can’t learn to master her powers as a Trigger, the squad and all their admirers are going to be deader than the Great Ultrasaur of Abraaxis IV.

Shocking revelations, bank heists, mysterious gifts, inappropriately tight bodysuits, and an epic firefight will determine the fate of the Aurora Legion’s most unforgettable heroes—and maybe the rest of the galaxy as well.]]> 512 Amie Kaufman 1760295744 Shannon 5 4.20 2020
author: Amie Kaufman
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/04/12
date added: 2021/04/13
shelves: 2021, adventure, alien-invasion, sci-fi, favourite, australian-women-writers, space-opera
review:

]]> 9160903 232 Anh Do 1742372384 Shannon 4 4.21 2010
author: Anh Do
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/25
date added: 2021/03/25
shelves: non-fiction, memoir, 2021, book-club
review:

]]> 51036775 If only you'd listened to us, none of this would have happened.

Sloane, Ardie, Grace, and Rosalita are four women who have worked at Truviv for years. The sudden death of the law firm's CEO means their boss, Ames, will likely take over the entire company.

Ames is a complicated man, a man they’ve all known for a long time, a man who’s always been surrounded by...whispers. Whispers that have always been ignored by those in charge. But the women are watching this latest promotion for Ames differently. This time, they’ve decided enough is enough.

Whispers become chatter, chatter grows loud, and then louder still, as Sloane and her colleagues unknowingly set in motion a catastrophic shift within every floor and department of the Truviv offices.]]> 337 Chandler Baker 0733641555 Shannon 3 3.38 2019
author: Chandler Baker
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/01/04
date added: 2021/03/13
shelves: 2021, culture-and-society, fiction, feminism, gritty-realism
review:

]]> 44414438
The new middle-grade fantasy that will make you believe in magic!

When Arthur and Rose were little, they were heroes in the Land of Roar, an imaginary world that they found by climbing through the folding bed in their grandad’s attic. Roar was filled with things they loved – dragons, mermaids, ninja wizards and adventure – as well as things that scared them (including a very creepy scarecrow. . .)

Now the twins are eleven, Roar is just a memory. But when they help Grandad clean out the attic, Arthur is horrified as Grandad is pulled into the folding bed and vanishes. Is he playing a joke? Or is Roar . . . real?]]> 304 Jenny McLachlan Shannon 3 4.06 2019
author: Jenny McLachlan
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/02/10
date added: 2021/02/15
shelves: 2021, adventure, childrens, fiction, speculative-fiction, fantasy
review:

]]> 36226804 A brilliant and immersive, all-consuming read about one fourteen-year-old girl's heart-stopping fight for her own soul.

Turtle Alveston is a survivor. At fourteen, she roams the woods along the northern California coast. The creeks, tide pools, and rocky islands are her haunts and her hiding grounds, and she is known to wander for miles. But while her physical world is expansive, her personal one is small and treacherous: Turtle has grown up isolated since the death of her mother, in the thrall of her tortured and charismatic father, Martin. Her social existence is confined to the middle school (where she fends off the interest of anyone, student or teacher, who might penetrate her shell) and to her life with her father.

Then Turtle meets Jacob, a high-school boy who tells jokes, lives in a big clean house, and looks at Turtle as if she is the sunrise. And for the first time, the larger world begins to come into focus: her life with Martin is neither safe nor sustainable. Motivated by her first experience with real friendship and a teenage crush, Turtle starts to imagine escape, using the very survival skills her father devoted himself to teaching her. The reader tracks Turtle's escalating acts of physical and emotional courage, and watches, heart in throat, as she struggles to become her own hero--and in the process, becomes ours as well.

Shot through with striking language in a fierce natural setting, My Absolute Darling is an urgently told, profoundly moving read that marks the debut of an extraordinary new writer.]]> 417 Gabriel Tallent 0525533230 Shannon 5 3.57 2017
author: Gabriel Tallent
name: Shannon
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2021/02/13
date added: 2021/02/15
shelves: 2021, gritty-realism, fucked-up, favourite, fiction
review:

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Morrigan Crow faces her most dangerous challenge yet in her latest Wundrous adventure. The highly anticipated third book in the award-winning Nevermoor series from one of Australia's bestselling and most loved authors.

Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to master the mysterious Wretched Arts of the Accomplished Wundersmith, and control the power that threatens to consume her.

But a strange and frightening illness has taken hold of Nevermoor, turning infected Wunimals into mindless, vicious unnimals on the hunt. As victims of the Hollowpox multiply, panic spreads. And with the city she loves in a state of fear, Morrigan quickly realises it's up to her to find a cure for the Hollowpox, even if it will put her - and everyone in Nevermoor - in more danger than she ever imagined.]]> 518 Jessica Townsend 0734418248 Shannon 5 4.51 2020
author: Jessica Townsend
name: Shannon
average rating: 4.51
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/31
date added: 2021/01/31
shelves: 2021, australian-women-writers, childrens, fantasy, favourite
review:

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